CHICAGO (AP) — All-Star outfielder Ian Happ and the Chicago Cubs agreed Wednesday to a $61 million, three-year contract covering 2024-26.
Happ agreed in January to a $10.85 million, one-year contract. His new deal calls for a $3 million signing bonus payable June 1 and salaries of $20 million in both 2024 and 2025, and $18 million in 2026. He gets a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips.
The 28-year-old would have been eligible for free agency after this year’s World Series.
“It’s compromising on structure and terms that takes three years and runs through my baseball prime,” Happ said. “That takes me on the market at 32. But that was my concession to be here.”
Happ is hitting .282 with one home run and six RBIs.
Happ was a first-time All-Star last year, when he hit .271 with 17 home runs, a career-high 42 doubles and 72 RBIs. Happ also earned his first NL Gold Glove. He hit a career-high 25 home runs in 2021.
“You want flexibility,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “But at the same time, you want to keep good players. To his credit, we never stopped talking.”
